Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-03-09
HALEY TO PORTLAND.
Items dotted Down while Travelling
ever the Short Line and o. r. 4 N.
Rnahc

AsO0uSs
To THE EDITOR OF TIE Trxxs:-
Your correspondent left Haley on
March I'd, en- route for Portland. In
four hours after leaving the county
seat of the great (undivided) Alturas,
very little snow was visible along the
line of the railway. Between Sho.
shone and Huntington, farmers are
already busy at their spring blowing.
At Durkee, the second station west
Of Huntington, snow is again encoun-
tered, and continues to increase in
depth until the summit of the noun
tains is reached, where it is two and
three feet deep.
All along the Oregon Short Line
Railway west of Shoshone there are
thousands of acres of fine land unoc-
cupied, which would, under cultiva-
ton, be rich in productiveness, and
yet every train going west over this
road carries large numbers of home
seekers, bound for Oregon aud Wash
ington, where the only land available
is covered with such dense growth
OF timber that it requires an ordinary
lifetime to clear enough for a small
farm. Nearly all of the Idaho farm
ing lands lying in our Territory are
ready for the plow--even the grubbing
of sagebrush being unnecessary.
From Durkee, the Oregon Railway
and Navigation Company's line winds
in and about the gulches and canyons,
gradually ascending until the summit
is reached, and thence it is down
grade all the way to Baker City-a
place of about 5000 inhabitants, and
resembling Boise City in appearance.
Baker is on Powder river, and at the
head of large valley, which is nearly
all taken up and under cultivation.
Between Huntington and Baker
City there are immense tracts Of good
grazing lands which seem to be gen
orally occupied by large and numer-
Gus bands of cattle. The valleys and
gulches are the favorite home of the
little brown grouse or prairie chicken,
Familiarity known on Wood River as
the willow hen. Sage hens are also
plentiful, and the streams throughout
the entire line of the road between
Haley and Portland TEEN with water
fowl.
The general features of Eastern
Oregon are the same as those of the
Wood River valley, except the noun
tains are not as high. Sage brush ia
everywhere present.
Nearly all of the principal towns
lying along tt e 0. R. & N. line have
a thrifty appearance. New merean-
tile houses and fine residences are
being rapidly erected.
IN the sheltered valleys large
orchards Of fruit trees are conspicu-
ously noticeable from the cars.
When the train stopped at La
Granee, your correspondent stepped
out upon the platform and ran against
Tom Bentley, one of Hailey's old res
idents. Tom is interested in so,ns
mining claims about 100 miles north
east of LaGrande, and is very san
guine of success this season. He saws
that "Grande Ronde valley, about
which the Oregonians crow so much,
possesses devilish mean climate.
The valley is from 10 to 20 miles wide
and 60 miles long, and mostly marshy
during the winter and spring. Mala.
ria comes forth from every slough
with the first warm weather. The
winter winds are simply terrific. They
blow up the valley for three days
steadily, and then switch abont and
blow down again for the same length
Of time"
| Fruit is very cheap at LaGrande
Apples are sold at the railway station
at cent each, or six for a nickel.
Near LaGrande the railway enters
the Blue Mountains, which are now
clothed in a heavy coat of white raj
ment. For about forty miles the road
is through heavy timber-smooth
straight pines, whose tops wave q
hundred feet above the ground, ano
whose trunks are from thirty to fit,
feet without knot or branch. Saw
mills are scattered along the line
through the mountains. On th'
western slope of the Blue Mountain
Iondsi;doS ora of dailv ooourrapoo .pf